Category: iPhone

Audio IC and Your iPhone 7 Speaker Problems

Another pervasive board-level issue is duping a growing number of Apple iPhone owners. In the past, users ran into iPhone 6+ touch issues which became known as Touch Disease. A surprising amount of iPhone 7 owners are now reporting problems with various audio functionalities. Users will first notice their microphone not working while making phone calls. The fault is known at the C12 pad on the audio integrated circuit chip. Technicians now commonly refer to it as the ‘Audio IC’ or ‘Loop disease’. It is unclear whether the issue is a manufacturer defect or due to regular wear of the device. Apple was recently hit with a class action lawsuit because of this particular issue. Fortunately, our technicians at Jet City Device Repair have the fix.

A common indicator of Audio IC disease is an error when using the voice memo app. Reports mention a grayed-out record button or an error message that reads ‘Recording Failed. No audio device found.’ Users also notice their microphone not working during phone calls. The speakerphone and Facetime icons also become grayed-out on your callscreen. Many users have also reported their iPhone won’t turn on. Others state very long boot up time when powering up their devices. An Apple icon will seem to hang for minutes on end before finally powering up all the way.

Audio IC Symptoms

Slow startup

Voice memo error

Grayed-out speakerphone

Videos don’t record audio

People can’t hear you on calls

The Fix

Disclaimer: This repair is not for the faint of heart. If you do not have any soldering experience, we recommend not attempting the repair. A small misstep could leave your phone permanently damaged. While the issue doesn’t directly affect your internal storage, we always recommend backing up any important data.

The problem exists not because of the IC chip itself, but with its connection to the logic board. First, we must desolder and remove the IC chip. Next, we clean the remaining pads and install a jumper to the C12 pad. The jumper creates a more reliable permanent repair because it makes a connection to where C12 runs to even if the pad can’t make that connection. Once installed, we must re-ball the IC-chip in order for it to fasten back to the logic board. The IC-chip must also be oriented and aligned accurately for all of the contacts to meet. This process helps to close the gap that causes all these audio issues.

The technique takes a trained hand and the proper tools to be successful. Jet City has the equipment and know-how to reverse this problematic issue. Contact us today and we can help return your phone back to normal.

Live or work in the Chicago Loop? Have a cracked iPhone screen? Super busy and wondering , “Is there an iPhone repair near me?”

Jet City Direct is the answer. If you have a broken iPhone and are in the Chicago Loop, one of our experienced & professional technicians will meet you at your office, a coffee shop, or any other public space and do the repair while you wait – usually in 30 minutes or less.

iPhone Repair that’s Really Easy

When you’re busy or Chicago weather is, well, Chicago weather, you don’t want to travel around the city to get your iPhone fixed. You want to stay in your office, meet at a local coffee shop, or some other nearby public space. You want someone to come to you and get the repair done quickly. And you want an affordable service.

This is the simplest iPhone repair you’ll ever have, and probably the easiest thing you’ll do all day.

iPhone Won’t Charge?

It’s all too common. A lifeless phone sits in limbo. It has been plugged in all night but your iPhone still won’t charge. Years of photos and contacts are now on the line. Questions and uncertainties can start piling up. When was the last data back up? Can this issue be solved today? Like every other electronic device, a cell phone’s battery can be replaced. Unfortunately, Apple hides the battery inside of its device. This makes accessing and testing them difficult without the proper tools and know-how. The days of swapping out a couple of double-A batteries on your Walkman are long gone.

That’s a common question this time of year. The newest phones are out and people want to trade-in their iPhone for the latest model. But what if it’s broken? You need to get it fixed first. Price may not be the only issue you care about, but it becomes much more important when you plan to get rid of your phone right away.

In past year we’ve spent a lot of time and effort developing a few of our technicians into experts at micro-soldering repairs. We’ve sent people to soldering classes, purchased high-end equipment, spent tons of time researching, done a bunch of practicing, and fixed a lot of real-world, broken devices. We’ve become very good at diagnosing and fixing board-level problems because of these investments.

Note: Non-genuine replacement displays may have compromised visual quality and may fail to work correctly. Apple-certified screen repairs are performed by trusted experts who use genuine Apple parts.

iPhone repair is a billion dollar a year business (that’s not a typo, it’s billion with a B). Apple wants all this revenue, and they have gotten extremely aggressive convincing (or punishing) people that prefer to use a different company. But outside of their control of the software (and willingness to use that control to harm their customers), do they really have an advantage?

Has your iPhone’s touch screen stopped working for no apparent reason? Are you seeing gray bars at the top? Then you probably have the dreaded iPhone touch disease. This is where the solder on a small Integrated Circuit (IC Chip) fails and causes the touch screen on your iPhone to stop working (you will usually see gray bars at the top of your screen, too).

It’s been over 6 years since the release of the iPhone 4S and 7 years since the release of the iPhone 4. We have decided it is time for us to discontinue these repairs for several reasons:

High-quality, reliable parts have gotten hard to find.

Very low demand. In the past month we’ve fixed about 2500 devices as a company and less than 20 of those have been the iPhone 4/4S.

Our core values dictate that we are great at the things we do and that we choose to do things that we can be great at. Unfortunately, with only 20 repairs across 15 technicians in the company there is no way for us to keep all of our technicians great at this repair. It’s hard to be great at something you only do once a month or every two months (especially if the parts are questionable). In addition, it’s getting hard for us to train new technicians on this repair because we see it so infrequently.

For all these reasons, we will no longer be formally offering this repair.

That said, many of our stores do still have parts for these devices and at least one or two technicians that are great at doing the repair. If you need an iPhone 4 or 4S fixed, don’t hesitate to contact us and we’ll see if we can help.